Funding and Policy

Even as the government gets ready to sort out Lockheed Martin’s protest of the U.S. Navy’s recent Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) contract with Raytheon, investments continue to build for maritime missile defense....More

The U.S. Navy is calling on industry to provide it with options on how to train helicopter pilots in the future.
Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) has put out a request for information on how it can supplement or replace its aging fleet of Bell TH-57 Sea Ranger single-engine training helicopters to support the helicopter flight training of Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and foreign student pilots....More

In Brief

MEXICAN TRAINERS: The Mexican air force has placed a follow-on order for a second batch of six Beechcraft T-6C+ turboprop trainers to continue replacing its Pilatus PC-7s. An initial six aircraft ordered in Januarry 2012 are to be delivered late this year after required export licenses are received. The T-4C+ has a glass cockpit, head-up display, and wing hardpoints for external stores and practice weapons....More

Programs

Northrop Grumman is not saying whether it will compete in the U.S. Air Force’s Long-Range Strike – Bomber program.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have announced that they will be teaming up to pursue the contract, with Boeing as prime and Lockheed as chief teammate....More

LONDON — The U.K.’s unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator Taranis has made its first test flights, according to documentation given to a government inquiry committee regarding the use of remotely piloted vehicles.
In the public evidence, being heard by the Commons Select Committee and supplied by the U.K. Defense Ministry, ground tests of the UCAV commenced in 2010 and “flight trials took place in 2013.” No further detail is given about when or where the test flights may have taken place....More

PARIS — The potentially faulty component that caused the launch of Europe’s €940 million ($1.25 billion) Gaia star-mapper to be postponed will also need to be replaced on the BepiColombo Mercury probe ahead of a planned 2015 launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) says....More

The Defense Department has set the stage for low-rate initial production of an upgraded version of the Paladin self-propelled cannon system.
The Defense Acquisition Executive approved Milestone C for the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program, the U.S. Army and PIM contractor BAE Systems announced this week at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. Milestone C is a key incremental step in the Pentagon’s acquisition process, allowing entry into the production and deployment phase....More

HOUSTON — Human space travelers may have more than rising intraocular pressures to be concerned about when it comes to their eyesight, according to a NASA-funded study of mice that revealed profound changes in eye structure and gene expression after just 13 days in space....More

For a second time in a week the U.S. Navy’s first-of-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) is in need of repairs.
The USS Freedom was pierside in Singapore Oct. 24, making preparations to get underway when the crew found “seawater contamination in the starboard steerable waterjet hydraulic system,” says Lt. Cmdr. Clayton Doss....More

XIAN, China — The proposed Sino-Russian Advanced Heavy Lifter (AHL) helicopter may be much larger than previously expected, some brief details revealed by Avicopter suggest.
The helicopter is under study—as it has been since 2008—when the Russian and Chinese governments agreed to cooperate on its development. Gross weight will be 30-40 tons, says Avicopter, which had previously said it would weigh up to 30 tons....More

Technology

As other defense contractors consider how to make military ground vehicles autonomous, Oshkosh Defense is exploring new uses for the autonomous technology it began developing in 2004.
“So now we have a fairly mature system that is basically a kit that can be installed on any tactical wheeled vehicle. It’s been designed pretty much from the ground up to be a system for use in convoy logistics missions,” John Beck, chief engineer for unmanned systems at Oshkosh said Oct. 23, the final day of the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington....More

Funding and Policy

Even as the government gets ready to sort out Lockheed Martin’s protest of the U.S. Navy’s recent Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) contract with Raytheon, investments continue to build for maritime missile defense....More

The U.S. Navy is calling on industry to provide it with options on how to train helicopter pilots in the future.
Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) has put out a request for information on how it can supplement or replace its aging fleet of Bell TH-57 Sea Ranger single-engine training helicopters to support the helicopter flight training of Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and foreign student pilots....More

In Brief

MEXICAN TRAINERS: The Mexican air force has placed a follow-on order for a second batch of six Beechcraft T-6C+ turboprop trainers to continue replacing its Pilatus PC-7s. An initial six aircraft ordered in Januarry 2012 are to be delivered late this year after required export licenses are received. The T-4C+ has a glass cockpit, head-up display, and wing hardpoints for external stores and practice weapons....More

Programs

PARIS — The potentially faulty component that caused the launch of Europe’s €940 million ($1.25 billion) Gaia star-mapper to be postponed will also need to be replaced on the BepiColombo Mercury probe ahead of a planned 2015 launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) says....More

The Defense Department has set the stage for low-rate initial production of an upgraded version of the Paladin self-propelled cannon system.
The Defense Acquisition Executive approved Milestone C for the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program, the U.S. Army and PIM contractor BAE Systems announced this week at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. Milestone C is a key incremental step in the Pentagon’s acquisition process, allowing entry into the production and deployment phase....More

LONDON — The U.K.’s unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator Taranis has made its first test flights, according to documentation given to a government inquiry committee regarding the use of remotely piloted vehicles.
In the public evidence, being heard by the Commons Select Committee and supplied by the U.K. Defense Ministry, ground tests of the UCAV commenced in 2010 and “flight trials took place in 2013.” No further detail is given about when or where the test flights may have taken place....More

Northrop Grumman is not saying whether it will compete in the U.S. Air Force’s Long-Range Strike – Bomber program.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have announced that they will be teaming up to pursue the contract, with Boeing as prime and Lockheed as chief teammate....More

XIAN, China — The proposed Sino-Russian Advanced Heavy Lifter (AHL) helicopter may be much larger than previously expected, some brief details revealed by Avicopter suggest.
The helicopter is under study—as it has been since 2008—when the Russian and Chinese governments agreed to cooperate on its development. Gross weight will be 30-40 tons, says Avicopter, which had previously said it would weigh up to 30 tons....More

For a second time in a week the U.S. Navy’s first-of-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) is in need of repairs.
The USS Freedom was pierside in Singapore Oct. 24, making preparations to get underway when the crew found “seawater contamination in the starboard steerable waterjet hydraulic system,” says Lt. Cmdr. Clayton Doss....More

HOUSTON — Human space travelers may have more than rising intraocular pressures to be concerned about when it comes to their eyesight, according to a NASA-funded study of mice that revealed profound changes in eye structure and gene expression after just 13 days in space....More

Technology-2

As other defense contractors consider how to make military ground vehicles autonomous, Oshkosh Defense is exploring new uses for the autonomous technology it began developing in 2004.
“So now we have a fairly mature system that is basically a kit that can be installed on any tactical wheeled vehicle. It’s been designed pretty much from the ground up to be a system for use in convoy logistics missions,” John Beck, chief engineer for unmanned systems at Oshkosh said Oct. 23, the final day of the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington....More